I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the extension of the Civil Registration Service to the registration of certain information regarding wills and for those purposes to revise the law relating to the Civil Registration Service and to provide for related matters

Next Tuesday.

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Darragh O 'Brien, to the House. I thank him for the enormous amount of time and energy he has put into Housing for All. I acknowledge in particular the work of the Oireachtas joint committee, the previous committee of which the Minister was a member. I too was a member of that committee. I thank also the current joint committee operating in this political term. I acknowledge too the enormous commitment of the Department's staff who are really active. Sometimes we forget them in the gr…

They did suggest a hard hat and jacket also with Rebuilding Ireland, but I said "No, this was enough". It is important that for a few moments we take a look back at Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness from July 2016. At the time I spoke in favour of it and I thought how brave the then Minister, Deputy Coveney, was in setting it all out. When one sets out objectives, deadlines and timelines it really puts it up, and that was a brave move on his part. I will quote extracts from Enda Kenny in …

I wish to refer to a report in the media today, which featured in a number of newspapers, that the Government will establish a new national task force to tackle the growing hospital waiting lists. I wish to refer also to the shocking waiting list figures, which we must be alarmed at. There are now 907,617 people waiting on treatment or assessment by a consultant and that is an increase over exactly one year of 66,167. Those figures were not compiled by me but by the National Treatment Purchase Fund, on which I keep…

I welcome the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, to the House.

I thank the Minister.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this very important Commencement matter. Indeed, he was one of the many people who travelled to Belfast on 30 August. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, for coming in to address this Commencement matter. I am very conscious that this is an important and sensitive issue, and therefore I have given some consideration to my comments. Senators and Deputies as well as representatives of the five parties in the Northern Executive met a cross-community group of victim cam…

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. It is certainly something that I will send to the relevant people this afternoon. I wish to thank the Cathaoirleach for his support, and that of the Irish parliamentarians who went to Belfast. It was a very significant meeting. As the Minister of State will be aware through his many years of experience in politics, it is unheard of for there to be all-island, cross-party and non-political unity on reaching a resolution. When I left Belfast, having listen…

I thank the Cathaoirleach for the way he has conducted his business over the past year. This is our last day of this term. I thank the Leader and, particularly, her staff and Ms Orla Murray, who are responsible for the Order of Business and our agendas every day. I thank Mr. Martin Groves, our clerk, and his staff for the way they keep us on track. Without them, I do not know where any of us would be. I ask Mr. Groves to tell his staff that we really appreciate them, the staff of the Bills Office and, more importan…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 9, to delete lines 18 to 21 and substitute the following: “order to achieve the purposes specified in this section, (s) to achieve the best possible social and economic return, consistent with the purposes of this Act, from the use of relevant public land under and in accordance with this Act, and (t) to continue the essential involvement of members of local authorities in the disposal of relevant public land as outlined in section 183 of the Local Government Act 2001, notwithstandin…

I again welcome the Minister to the House. While I did not think it would happen this way, I am particularly pleased that these two amendments are being taken right at the beginning of the debate. For many years I was a councillor on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. I know the Minister used to be a councillor, as have many Members of this House. I took a lot of trouble to look at the record of the House and I am very happy to share all this with the Minister. I want to be positive, as he is. At the outset, I …

I will be brief. I thank the Minister for engaging with us. I also thank the Senators who have engaged in this debate. It has been a good debate. People are passionate about housing but they are also passionate about local government. As I said at the outset, the powers and functions of our elected councillors are important. I am not going to dwell much longer on the issue because I have made the point. I acknowledge the work of Mr. John Coleman, chief executive of the LDA. He is an amazing man and a good guy. He h…

I second the amendment.

I thank the Minister of State. She has a lot on her plate this morning.

I thank the Senator. He made a strong case.

I thank the Senator and the Minister of State. The next Commencement matter-----

I am sorry. The Minister of State has another minute.

I apologise to the Minister of State for speeding up the process. I am always interested in what she has to say. I am particularly interested when it concerns Booterstown, an area that I represented for many years.

Will the Senator let the Minister of State speak?